U.S. Agents Shut Tunnel to Canada Built by Smugglers

Published: July 22, 2005

Federal agents have shut down an elaborate, 360-foot tunnel used to smuggle drugs from Canada into the United States, the first such passageway discovered on the nation's northern border, officials said Thursday.

Five people linked to the tunnel were arrested on marijuana trafficking charges, John McKay, a United States attorney, said in this border town about 90 miles north of Seattle.

''They were smart enough to build a sophisticated tunnel,'' Mr. McKay said. ''They weren't smart enough to not get caught.''

The tunnel begins under a Quonset hut on the Canadian side and ends under the living room of a home on the United States side, 300 feet from the border. Built with lumber, concrete and metal reinforcing bars, the passageway was equipped with lights and ventilation and ran underneath a highway. It was 3 1/2 to 4 feet high and wide, and ran from 3 to 10 feet below ground, the authorities said.

Mr. McKay said the authorities had monitored construction of the tunnel for six months and sealed it shortly after it opened Wednesday.

Numerous smuggling tunnels have been found on the United States border with Mexico, but this was the first discovered along the border with Canada, Mr. McKay said. Canadian authorities learned of the tunnel in February and alerted United States officials.

Francis Devandra Raj, 30; Timothy Woo, 34; and Johnathan Valenzuela, 27, of Surrey, British Columbia, were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana. Mr. Raj owns the property where the Quonset hut is located, the authorities said.

On Saturday, two other people were arrested in Washington for transporting marijuana that had come through the tunnel, said Greg Gassett, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. One was a woman who the authorities said had 93 pounds of marijuana in her vehicle when she was stopped. The other was a man pulled over with 110 pounds of the drug.

On July 2, agents entered the home on the United States side to examine the tunnel. They later installed cameras and listening devices in the home.

Photo: A schematic of the tunnel built underneath the border with Canada. (Photo by Andy Clark/Reuters)